AZ Lawmakers Expected to Pass a Law Prohibiting Picketing at Funerals; Aim to Halt Protests at Tucson Shooting Victims' Funerals

State lawmakers proposed emergency legislation Tuesday to head off picketing by a Topeka, Kansas, church at the funeral service for a 9-year-old girl who was among six people killed during Saturday's shooting in Tucson.

The state Senate passed a bill, which is being considered by the House of Representatives and will go to the governor's desk for her signature. A spokesman for Governor Jan Brewer said she would sign it.

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The proposed law -- Senate Bill 1101 -- would make it a class 1 misdemeanor to protest within 300 feet of a funeral or burial service at a cemetery, funeral home, church, or synagogue one hour before or after the services.

State Senator Kyrsten Sinema, a Phoenix Democrat who is the lead sponsor of the Senate's version of the bill, said the the legislation would only prohibit protests at funeral and burial sites because courts have struck down picketing prohibitions for procession routes.

House Speaker Kirk Adams and Senate President Russell Pearce both support the bill, which enjoys strong bipartisan backing in the Republican-controlled Legislature, the Associated Press reported.